


i'd travel across alaska on a skidoo to make you happy

by kingsatanthegay



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Balto AU, But Also Everything, M/M, Major Illness, Minor Violence, The Author Regrets Nothing, ashdjkash whyyyyy did i write this, uhhhhh ik i just read it but i can't think of any more tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:27:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26670640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingsatanthegay/pseuds/kingsatanthegay
Summary: askdjhajk i really tried to come up with a good title i swearthis is actually ancient..... i wrote this in like 2018 i think??i watched this movie and couldn't help but think of this au..... back then everything was a klance reference huhdisclaimer: the italicized morse bits are quoted directly from the moviei hate myself for writing this but not enough to not post it
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Kudos: 14





	i'd travel across alaska on a skidoo to make you happy

**Author's Note:**

> askdjhajk i really tried to come up with a good title i swear  
> this is actually ancient..... i wrote this in like 2018 i think??   
> i watched this movie and couldn't help but think of this au..... back then everything was a klance reference huh  
> disclaimer: the italicized morse bits are quoted directly from the movie  
> i hate myself for writing this but not enough to not post it

A yellow flare shot up into the sky.

"Shiro! That's the three mile marker!" Keith's face lit up as he towed his elder brother towards the finish line. "If we run, we can still catch the finish!"

He heard Shiro sigh as he was tugged along. "You're always so excited about these things, why don't you just join yourself?"

Keith rolled his eyes. "Riiight, OK. Sure thing. Lemme go and ask Lotor real quick if I can join his team. That'll work for  _ sure _ ." His voice was laced with bitter sarcasm, and it made Shiro's face pinch.

"I'm sure once he  _ sees _ you run, he'll be impressed."

"What world are you living in? Cause it's not the one I am." Keith picked up his pace. "Come on! That's the one-mile marker! Come on, damn you,  _ move _ before I leave your ass!" Keith gave one final yank on Shiro's arm before dropping his arm and racing ahead.

His brother sighed, shaking his head. Then he bolted, pulling up next to Keith and easily overtaking him. He glanced over his shoulder at his brother's pouting face. "Come on, I thought you said we had to run?"

Keith grimaced and then pumped his legs faster, catching up to his brother. "You're the worst," he grumbled.

"But you love me." Shiro's smile was teasing but nonetheless full of affection.

* * *

Lance finally arrived at the finish line, Allura walking slightly behind him.

"Lance! I'm just gonna pop over there for a bit!" she called, motioning to a shop window.

He flashed her a thumbs-up, and then Rolo and Nyma were on either side of him.

"It's supposed to be quite the close race," Nyma was telling him. "At least that's what they're  _ saying _ . It'll practically be  _ neck-and-neck _ ."

"Ooh, really? Sounds exciting!"

"For the love of—would you just say something about her new necklace before she starts pouting again," Rolo muttered in his ear.

"Is that a new necklace?" he asked, feigning interest.

"Oh, this old thing?" Nyma glanced down at it fondly, then grinned. "Yup!"

"It's beautiful!"

"The only reason she's wearing it is so Lotor'll notice," Rolo huffed loudly.

The blush colouring Nyma's cheeks was incredible. "Nuh-uh!"

Lance fixed her with a disbelieving look, complete with eyebrow raise.

"Ugh, fine!" she sighed. "Do you think he will? Notice?"

"The only way he'd notice anything is if it were wearing a mirror," Rolo said  seethingly .

* * *

The cheering grew louder, and Keith saw the first runner whip around the corner.  _ Lotor. _ Naturally. And right behind him... Keith smirked, glancing sidelong at Shiro, who was practically drooling.

"Lance!" a voice called further down in the crowd. He glanced over to see Allura rush over to the boy. "There you are, I thought you'd wandered off again."

Lance's replying smile made Keith's insides squirm. "Heh, sorry about that. Wanted to get a better view of the runners."

Allura turned and saw Lotor leading the racers. She took off her hat and waved it encouragingly. "You've got this, Lotor!" Then a gust of wind yanked the hat from her grip and carried it into the raceway. "Oh no!"

Lance's eyes widened.  _ "Shit." _

Keith's gaze landed on the hat, and then shifted to the runners. They might not notice it, they could trip over it, and then it would be trampled and they, injured. And Keith knew that hat had belonged to Allura's father. He did the first thing that came to mind: he ducked under the rope and dashed out into the raceway.

"What are you doing, you imbecile!" he heard Lotor growl behind him between laboured breaths. "Get out of my way!"

He easily kept pace beside the runner, and then pulled ahead, grabbing the hat off the ground and leaping back over the rope at the sideline. 

"Keith!" Shiro shoved his way through the crowd, over to his brother. "What were you thinking?"

"That I had to get Allura’s hat so your prince wouldn’t trip on it," he replied with a shrug, smirking at Shiro's blush.

"H-he's not my prince!" he spluttered.

"You're just in denial." He waved the hat lazily, brushing off his brother's concerns.

* * *

Lotor posed for photos under the finishing flag. He could see the headlines already:  _ Lotor wins first place of season. Three-time winner keeps gold medal. _

"That was amazing, Lotor sir!" some runner was gushing.

"It was a pleasure running behind you!" another exclaimed.

Lotor examined his nails, not deigning their comments worthy of responses. Then he caught the tail end of a two reporters' conversation.

" Don'cha think Lotor's losing his edge?"

"Yeah, seems like anyone could beat him now if that homeless kid can."

He grit his teeth but didn’t call them out. It could only damage his reputation further.

* * *

"Keith!" Allura exclaimed when he made his way over to her and Lance. "That was crazy! Are you out of your mind?" She wrapped him in a tight hug. "Thank you, Keith."

"No problem." When she released him, his eyes immediately found their way to Lance's smiling face.

He heard a quiet, "Oh, I see," from where Allura was standing and was thankful his cheeks were already red from exertion.

But then Lotor was there, and he grabbed Allura's elbow, guiding her away from Keith. "Come on, Allura. Stay away from the commonality. Let’s go." He tugged again and she gave in, shooting Keith an apologetic smile.

Once they'd taken a few steps, Allura yanked her arm out of Lotor's grasp and walked ahead of him, leaving him to strike up a conversation with Lance.

Keith watched, with a sinking feeling, how easily the two fell into step with each other. He trudged through the snow in the direction of the shelter, head hanging.

* * *

"Enjoy the race?" 

"Almost as much as you did," Lance nearly growled.

"What do you say we grab a bite to eat?" Lotor murmured. "I know a great restaurant—"

"Sorry, suddenly I've lost my appetite," Lance bit back, leaning away from the other man.

Lotor sneered. "It would seem your tastes run more towards...  _ the poor _ ." He practically spat the last word.

"Oh, please. I'm not even that rich, so would you just shut your mouth?" Lance crossed his arms and caught up to Allura.

* * *

Keith was almost back to the shelter when he heard Allura's tinkling laugh. He lifted his head and saw her and Lance on the other side of the street and down a ways. Lotor, of course, was still with them.

Lance paused at a shop window to admire something, and Keith raced over to him. "Lance!" 

"Hey, Keith!" Lance grinned at him. "What's up?"

"Lance, I—"

"Lance, are you coming?" Allura called. He turned to tell her to give him a minute, but when he turned back, Keith had already left.

He continued on his way until Shiro found him again. "Where are you going now?"

He answered without lifting his head. "Back to the shelter."

"Keith..." He heard the note of worry, of care, in his brother's voice. "I told you, you're welcome to stay at my place."

"And  _ I _ told  _ you _ , I don't want to leech off you any more than I already have."

"Come on, Keith. Ever since our parents—"

" _ Your _ parents," he corrected bitterly.

"Ever since they died, you've been... distant and moody."

"I was ‘ _ distant and moody’ _ even when they were alive. If you ever cared enough to notice." He knew Shiro cared about him more than anything, but right now, he needed to take his anger out on something. Anything. At this point, even Shiro was an option.

"Keith, you know I love you. Would you just suck up your damn pride and move in with me? Or is being homeless so much better than sharing a house with your brother?"

"Just leave it, Shiro!" he snapped. "It's  _ my _ life, and if I wanna live in a shelter, I'll live in a bloody shelter!"

"Right, so if you want to royally fuck up your life, you're going to do just that? OK, whatever you say. I won't try to help, then, if that's what you really want." Shiro's voice had an edge to it, and anyone who didn't know him would think it was dangerous, threatening. But Keith knew better. It was a worried, sorrowful edge, and Keith hated when Shiro's voice carried it.

"Thank you." He aimed for strong and resentful, missed the mark by about a thousand metres and got a broken whisper instead.

"Anything you want." It wasn't what he wanted, not at all. But was he going to tell his brother that? No, probably not. 

Keith turned away and hadn't taken more than a few steps when someone behind him taunted, "Didn’t make the team, hobo?"

He stopped, gritted his teeth. He could hear Shiro's voice echo in his head:  _ Patience yields focus, Keith. Be patient. _ Why would he listen to Shiro, though? He faced Lotor and growled, "My name is  _ Keith _ ."

"Oh, apologies,  _ Keith _ . Keith the vagrant." Behind him, in the mouth of the alleyway, his goons howled with laughter. "What about that brother of yours—of course, he's not  _ really _ your brother—is he a guttersnipe as well?"

Keith felt his face contort and he ground out,  _ "Leave him out of this." _

Lotor chuckled, fishing around in his pocket. "Here. Pass this along to him, will you? And make sure he gets it, thief." He tossed some spare change at Keith, and that was the last straw.

Keith threw himself at the runner, landing a blow on his nose. He both heard and felt the crack beneath his knuckles, and Lotor cried out.

"What are you waiting for?" he screeched.  _ "Get him!" _

His goons took his place and leapt at Keith. A couple swings landed on his gut and shoulder. He knew he couldn't fight three people at the same time. He swung desperately at anything he could reach. His fists glanced off his opponents' sides. Then they were being shoved roughly aside, and Keith had room to breathe again. His eyes refocused and he saw Shiro tossing the women and Lotor to the alley opening. They all ran, but Lotor chucked a rock at Keith for good measure before dashing away.

Shiro turned to his younger brother, who was flushed, sweating, and out of breath. "Keith." There was that worried note again. Keith wanted to fold in on himself. "What the hell happened? I leave for five minutes and you're already getting into fights?"

"It wasn't my fault," he mumbled. "I know I say it every time, but this time it really wasn't. He—he called you a guttersnipe and threw change at me."

Shiro had to stop himself laughing. "He... called me a guttersnipe," he echoed. Keith crossed his arms tighter. "Keith, you've got to stop fighting. You're going to get seriously hurt one day. And then who's Lance going to flirt with? We'll all be subjected to that hell."

Keith's cheeks went a deeper red. 

"Come on, let's get you home."

* * *

Why did Keith let himself get talked into going to Shiro's place? Oh, right. The guilt trip. He huffed, sliding lower in his chair as he stared at the fire. His moment of peace was broken when outside, a voice shouted, " Daaad ! Hunk is picking on me!"

Keith rolled his eyes.  _ Those two, _ he thought distastefully.  _ Of course. The one time I'm here. _

Shiro emerged from the kitchen just as the front door burst open, a cold gust of wind sweeping through the room. Keith shivered and wrapped the blanket tighter around himself.

"What? I am not. All I'm saying is, if you'd added just a  _ touch _ more nutmeg, she'd have been more impressed."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Oh, bugger off. Da-ad, I'm hungry."

Shiro sighed, wiping his hands off on a towel. "Would you stop calling me dad? I'm not  _ that _ much older than you."

"Ten years is a lot,  _ Dad _ ," Keith taunted with a smirk.

"Oh God, not you too." Shiro shook his head. "So, Hungry, how about some food? I've got some oatmeal on the stove right now, it just needs a few more minutes."

Hunk narrowed his eyes. "Did you add the spice already?" At Shiro's nervous glance away, he sighed. "Aw, come on, man, what'd I tell you? Spice needs time to infuse..." His voice trailed away as he walked through the kitchen doorway. 

There was a moment of silence in which the three others stared at the doorway. Keith and Shiro knew what was coming.

_ "What?" _ came the indignant cry. "You don't  _ have any _ ? No way, nuh-uh, this isn't not happening, nope. Come on, Pidge, we're going to the store."

"But it's cold and I'm hungry!" she whined, but they were already out the door.

Keith watched them until they disappeared around the corner at the end of the street. He sighed. Then immediately regretted it as Shiro pulled up a chair next to him.

He turned his head away, but Shiro spoke nonetheless. "So what's really bothering you?"

Keith knew it was pointless to lie. Shiro already knew what was bothering him, and if his brother was right, so did everyone else. So he told the truth. "Lance."

He could hear the shit-eating grin in Shiro's next words. "Why don't you go make a move then? Sweep him off his feet with something romantic."

"I'm not his type."

"Oh? Then what, pray tell,  _ is  _ his type?"

Shrug. "Not me."

"If that's the best answer you can come up with, I think you oughta give it a go." 

Shiro patted him on the shoulder, ignoring his mumbled, "Whatever." He was too done to argue his own point about how Shiro should make a move on Adam before it was too late.

* * *

The hospital smelled like death. Lance could feel the sick on his skin, threatening to seep down into his bones and claim him, too.

He swallowed hard as the doctor came in and took a seat on his stool. Allura sat on the table in front of him, sounding on the verge of hacking up a lung.

The doctor felt around on her neck, which had swelled rapidly since the previous night, when they had started suspecting she may be sick. He flattened her tongue with a popsicle stick and shone a flashlight in her mouth. It was coated in grey.

The doctor sighed as he stood. "Diphtheria," he confirmed. "We're expecting a shipment of medicine to be ready for pickup soon. For now, she needs plenty of rest. She's not to leave her bed."

Lance noticed that one of the runners—the one Keith was always teasing Shiro about—was laying in one of the beds as they helped Allura out of the examination room and into one of the few empty hospital beds. Within moments, she was asleep.

Lance pulled the blanket up to her chin, looking down at her sadly. He glanced up at the sound of a muffled sob and was shocked to see his own family gathered around a bed. He made his way over to them, and lay a hand on his mother's shoulder. 

"Mamá?" He tried to see over the heads of his siblings. "Who is it?" When he met her eyes, he saw they were bloodshot and her cheeks were littered with tear tracks. She was shaking her head as if she thought she could tell the universe,  _ This isn't happening, you aren't allowed to do this. _

"Who is it?" His voice hardened. He needed to know who was in that bed, and she was going to tell him, even if it killed the both of them. "Mamá, you need to tell me who it is." He gripped her shoulders, she was still shaking her head, and now his voice was wavering.

His mother took a deep breath and whispered, voice cracked, "Silvio. It's—He's—" She broke off with a sob that Lance barely heard. 

All he could think was, was it really Silvio? Sweet, innocent Silvio, who would never hurt a fly and who'd done no wrong?

Lance needed out. He couldn't stay in this death-infested place anymore. He shoved through the families of the sick until he reached the door. It slammed shut behind him. His breaths puffed white from his mouth, his eyes stung with unshed tears, the cold air bit his nose when he inhaled.

He collapsed onto the bench across the street and buried his face in his hands, trying and failing to calm his racing mind. He leaned back and stared vacantly at the building in front of him, shoulders slumped.

Someone sat down beside him, and he almost didn't notice.

"Hey, Lance."

He turned to see Keith, looking anywhere but at him. "Oh. Hey, Keith." He turned back to the hospital.

"Hey. Uh, listen, I was just wondering if, maybe... you'd wanna take a walk? Or something?"

When Lance didn't reply, Keith leaned forward to catch his eye. His teary eye.

"Lance? What's wrong?" His voice was laced with concern, genuine concern. Lance almost broke down right then and there.

Instead he croaked, "Silvio's in there. Diphtheria."

He heard Keith's sharp intake of breath. "Jesus, Lance. I—I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine."

"Yeah, well. S'nothing we can do about it."

Keith  _ tsk _ ed and stood abruptly, offering Lance his hand. Dazed, Lance took it without question. They'd already walked a block when Lance asked where they were going.

"I'm taking you for a walk." That's all he got out of Keith.

"But it's cold."

"Don't worry." Keith glanced over his shoulder at Lance and smirked. "I've got the keys to the city."

The keys, it turned out, were a lockpick and a torsion wrench. "Isn't that, y'know, illegal?"

" Bigtime ." The door swung open and Keith walked inside the house.

"Then why are we doing this?" Lance hissed.

"You said you were cold, so I'm getting some blankets."

"Oh my—We could've gone to my house!"

"Where's the fun in that? Besides, what's the point in knowing how to pick locks if you don't use it against rich people?"

Lance had no words.  _ This guy really hates rich people. _

"How do you know no one's here?" he hissed.

"I don't."

This more than anything gave Lance pause. He could handle breaking into an empty house—an  _ empty _ house.  _ Not _ a house with people that could hear them and have them sent to jail inside.

Keith seemed to find the linen closet with ease—with almost  _ too _ much ease. Like he'd found it before. He reached inside and handed Lance a small pile of blankets. The closet door squeaked when Keith shut it, and from upstairs they heard someone call, "Mildred? Are you down there?"

The call was immediately followed by a, "What? I can barely hear you. These damn batteries are wearing out." The reply was much closer—probably in the next room over. Lance swallowed. Then ran out of the house as quietly as he could.

He stopped a block away, and whipped around to face Keith, who'd followed behind him.

"What the  _ hell _ , Keith?! We could've been caught! You're lucky Mildred's half-deaf, y'know!"

Keith smirked. "Don't worry. Ol' Millie n' I've got a deal worked out." He took all but one blanket from Lance's hands. "You still cold? We've got a ways to go."

They had a  _ deal _ ? Mildred refused to talk to anyone unless it was to rat them out. What must Keith have offered—or Mildred demanded—for her to agree?

Lance shook his head. He'd ask later. For now, he had to find out where they were going.

Keith led him to the city limits, then past them, then further still. They walked up a hill, which was a challenge in itself. Add two-foot-deep snow, and you get aching legs and burning lungs. In Lance's case, anyway. Keith, on the other hand, was barely out of breath.

Finally Keith stopped, glanced around, and lay a thick blanket on the snow. It sank in to the fluffy white when he sat heavily on it. Lance followed him down, blanket still wrapped around his shoulders.

"Are you gonna tell me what we're doing here yet? Or do I have to guess?"

"You can just sit back and relax—I think it's starting soon."

_ What's starting? _ he wanted to ask, but he felt he should listen to Keith, just this once.

And soon enough, he had his answer.

The sky lit up gradually, and then all at once. Massive bands of light snaked their way across the heavens, blue and green and violet all blending together in places. The lights shone down onto the snow, reflecting so it was bright as day.

Lance had never left town to watch the lights. And boy, he wished he had before now. Here, he could see the entirety of the borealis; it wasn't blocked by buildings or even by trees, this high up.

When he was able to tear his eyes away, they immediately settled on Keith's. He could see the lights in his eyes, more so than usual, and it filled his chest with—with  _ lightness _ . He felt light when he looked at Keith, and didn’t know why it took him so long to realize.

"Beautiful," he breathed. And then immediately hoped Keith didn't hear.

He had. "Isn't it?" There was a small smile playing about his lips as he spoke, a faraway look in his bright, violet eyes. "I used to come here with my parents. Then I showed Shiro and his parents and—" The smile faded, the light dimmed. "—well, Shiro came back with me after that."

Keith had taken his family. Only his family. People he was close to, people he loved—in almost every case. Lance thought his heart might float right out of his chest, it was so light.

"Thank you," he whispered before it could. "For bringing me here. I love it."

Keith met his gaze, and the smile was back. Then his eyes flicked up, focusing on something behind him, and it was gone again, replaced with a frown.

"Lotor." The word was almost a growl the way he said it.

Lance turned and Lotor grinned down at him. "Well well well, what's going on here?"

Lance narrowed his eyes. "I don't have to answer to you."

"Then don't. Come on." He held out a hand. "Come home with me. Nyma said she needs help with something." He didn't want to think about the double meaning of Lotor's words.

"Lance—" 

He cut off Keith's words with a look. And then took Lotor's hand and stood. "Did she now? Are you sure that's  _ all _ you're asking me?" He knew that question opened him up for attack, for any kind of answer Lotor could come up with.

He hummed. "Nothing I'm interested in discussing in front of this  _ vagrant _ ."

Lance willed the glare out of his gaze. "Then don't," he replied with an innocent smile.

He'd been walking forwards, pressing Lotor backwards, closer to the edge. He suppressed a scream when Lotor stepped onto emptiness and fell into nothing. He hadn’t expected his plan to actually work. It wasn't a far drop—a couple metres at most—but it would be enough to convince Lotor to bug off. Or so he hoped.

A hand gripped his upper arm roughly, prompting him to turn back to Keith. He had all the blankets in his arms. "We should go."

Lance nodded, not trusting his voice to remain steady.

They ran back into town, pausing for Keith to hurriedly chuck the blankets back into Mildred's house. As they passed the hospital, Lance noted, with a sinking heart, the sign now hanging on the door:

QUARANTINE

* * *

_ Anchorage, _

_ Urgent request for more diphtheria antitoxin. Nome is in grave danger. Please help. _

_ \- Nome _

* * *

_ Nome, _

_ Pack ice is closing in. Antitoxin cannot be shipped by sea. Will try by air. _

_ \- Anchorage _

* * *

_ Nome, _

_ There is a storm at the airport. Planes are grounded until storm clears. Many regrets. From Juneau, Office of the Governor, we are shipping antitoxin by rail. Train line ends at town of Nenana. Select fastest way of travel to arrive and carry antitoxin from Nenana to Nome.  _

_ \- Anchorage _

* * *

A massive sign hung in the middle of the street, anchored to buildings by rope. 

_ Antitoxin Retrieval  _

A line had already formed, snaking down and around the block. 

Lotor stalked down the line, sizing up his possible recruits. Half of them didn’t seem like they would be able to handle the task. Those ones, he sent off. 

“Just look at him,” Nyma sighed dreamily. “He’s gonna save the whole town! Isn’t he great?”

“It’s not a one-man show, Nyma,” Lance grumbled. “They’re all signing up to be on a  _ team _ .”

“What’s with you?” Nyma rolled her eyes. “Lotor’s a genuine hero. Plus, he’s so into you and you won’t even give him the time of day!”

“That’s because Lance is busy getting busy with  _ Keith _ .” Rolo smirked knowingly as he joined them on the sidewalk. “Lance was seen leaving and coming back into town last night with him. And I heard it from a very reliable source, so don’t bother trying to deny it.”

Lance blushed, smiled shyly. “Then I guess I won’t.”

Nyma gasped dramatically. “I’m speechless.”

A booming voice called from the sign-up booth, “Sign-ups are opening now!”

There was a flurry of movement as latecomers rushed to get in line. They jostled Keith and Shiro, who were standing near the front. 

“Keith, I still don’t think you should do this.” When Keith rolled his eyes, Shiro pressed, “Look at yourself; you’re underfed, dehydrated, and sleep-deprived. Do you really think you should be going across the state on a skidoo?”

"I’ll be  _ fine _ , Shiro. Besides, I need to help. Lance’s nephew is in there. Allura’s in there.  _ Adam’s _ in there. You really think I’d be able to sleep at night knowing I let your boyfriend die?”

Shiro blanched. Whether it was from the word ‘boyfriend’ or the mention of his death, Keith wasn’t sure. “It wouldn’t be your fault if he, y’know…” Shiro paused, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Ugh, whatever. It’s pointless arguing when you’ve already made up your mind.”

Keith grinned, smug, and crossed his arms. 

Just then, Lotor stepped into view, frowning. "And you're doing what, exactly?"

Shiro attempted to step in front of Keith, but the latter rested a placating hand on his upper arm. Shiro glanced back at Keith in surprise, presumably wondering why he wasn't ready to fight. Keith just shook his head and fixed his gaze on Lotor.

"I'm signing up. To help transport the medicine."

Lotor chuckled humourlessly. "That's precisely what I thought." He stepped closer. "But you won't be, so don't waste your time in line."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Get your poor self out of line and go home—oh, my bad, you don't  _ have _ one," he sneered.

Keith clenched his jaw. "I don't think I will."

Now it was Lotor's turn to be shocked. "Oh, really? And why is that?"

"Because I'm doing it for someone important to me. And I think they're important to you, too. Wouldn't want them to be disappointed, would you?" His gaze slid past Lotor's face, where he could see Lance and two of his friends watching their exchange nervously.

Lotor smirked, but it was different from the previous ones; it was defeated. He knew he'd lost this one. "Whatever. Don't say I didn't tell you so when you get rejected at the booth." Then he was gone, moving on to the next person in line.

Shiro smiled at Keith. "You handled that well. I'm proud of you." Little did he know, Keith was three seconds away from chasing after Lotor and punching in his perfect white teeth. He didn't reply, lest anything unsavoury come out instead of thanks.

They finally made it to the booth. Keith signed his name on the paper, but hesitated when he reached the "place of residence" column. He could just leave it blank, right? So he did. Unfortunately, the booth attendant noticed.

"You have to write a valid address, you know."

"Uh..." He glanced at Shiro, on the other side of the street. Why did he never pay attention to the numbers on the door?

"Wait, I know you..." The attendant peered more closely at him. "You're that homeless guy, the one who's always picking fights."

"Um..."

The attendant sat back in the chair. "Sorry, we can't take you. Too much of a liability."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah. We've been given instructions not to accept super aggressive people. Thanks for wanting to help, though."

Then the person behind Keith was pushing him out of the way. In his haze, he didn't realize Lotor had approached him yet again.

It was the sinister chuckle that broke his reverie. "Oh, poor thing. Got your dreams crushed? I told you there was no way they'd let  _ you _ on the team."

"Lotor!" a voice scolded. They both looked over to see Lance walking towards them. "It's not about  _ who's _ on the team, it's about whether or not the medicine gets back in time. Quit being so stuck up."

"Oh, but of course. I don't know what I was thinking."

Lance tried to reply, but was dragged away by the arm. His girl friend—Keith couldn't remember her name for the life of him—was red in the face and wore a nervous expression. Keith didn't know what her deal was, but she annoyed him to no end.

Lotor leaned in close, sneering in Keith's face, "You're lucky we're leaving today, otherwise I'd have you run out of town." Then he was gone, moving back to the task at hand.

Keith blanched. He knew damn well it could happen. Lotor had that kind of sway, as his father was the mayor.

Keith distantly registered that Lance had broken free of his friend's hold and made his way back over.

"Ugh, sorry about that, she has this major cru—"

"Better not engage me, Lance, I might pick a fight with you." His voice was flat, cold, as he walked away. He should've cared—should've apologized for talking to Lance like that and cutting him off—but he walked away instead. He needed to mull things over in privacy.

* * *

Lance stood huddled with Hunk, Pidge, and the rest of the town in the cold snow. They were gathered around the town limit, watching as the snowmobile team prepped to leave for Nenana. Lance had a brief flashback to the last time he had been at the edge of the town. The thought alone warmed him up, and he was grateful to the cold for hiding his blush.

"This will guide the team home," a man was saying as he lit a lantern and hung it on the hook outside his door. "As long as there's hope for the medicine reaching us, this will stay lit."

He glanced back to the hospital, where, through the window, he could see his parents watching with Silvio. A heavy sigh escaped him. He shook thoughts of unfairness from his head and turned his thoughts to the borealis.

It was nowhere to be seen tonight; Lance appreciated the symbolism of this. His eyes traced the ridge of the hill closest to town. Was that—

He squinted, trying to make out the figure on top. Yup, it was Keith, silhouetted against the stars. Lance couldn't see his face, but he could imagine the expression it wore: deep sorrow, shrouded by guilt and envy. Those purple eyes held galaxies' worth of emotions, swirling around inside of him, that Lance couldn't even begin to understand.

Movement caught his eye. The team was departing. There was applause as they revved the engines, and a flurry of snow as they took off.

Lance could only hope they made it back in time, without a hitch. He cast a glance around him. Nope, no wood to knock on.

* * *

They made it to the train station in Nenana. 

Lotor grinned in triumph.  _ See, we didn't need that homeless runt. _

They wasted no time getting back on the road—or what remained of it. Most of it was buried underneath the snow that was beating down on them. 

A blizzard was on the way.

Lotor couldn't see two feet in front of himself. None of them could.

"Hey! Maybe we should turn back! We're lost!" Ezor. It was always Ezor questioning his authority.

Lotor shouted, without turning, " _ Lost? _ You think I'm  _ lost  _ ? Pah!"

If she said anything more, Lotor couldn't hear it over the howling of the wind and snow.

* * *

"I've got terrible news, everyone." Coran stood at the front of the town hall, wringing his hands, eyes downcast. He took a deep breath before looking up at them all. "The team is lost. They missed their second checkpoint."

An outburst from the townspeople.

"Lost?"

"Can't they send another team?"

"It's too dangerous," Coran explained.

"But what about the children?" an outraged mother cried.

Coran didn't reply. But everyone knew.

The medicine wouldn't be there in time.

They would lose the children.

Lance felt dread course through him. His heart sank. He couldn't have said if it was still beating.

_ Silvio. _

His parents weren't here; they were at the hospital, and they hadn't let any of his other siblings attend the meeting. 

Lance would have to tell them, but how could he tell them their grandson would die?

He rushed out of the hall and to the hospital. He wouldn't waste the little time he had left with Silvio.

His family was crowded around the young boy's bed; there were so many people Lance couldn't see the bed. He approached warily, just enough to make out his nephew.

He was pale and sweaty. Breathing so feebly his chest barely rose. Lance almost had to look away, leave. He couldn't bear the sight of his nephew like this.

Gingerly, Lance placed a hand on his mother's shoulder. The look in his eyes must have been answer enough to her unspoken question, because tears sprung to her eyes and she covered her face with her hands.

* * *

"Keith, c'mon, you can't be serious."

Shiro was watching his brother root through the closet in search of every article of cold-weather clothing Shiro owned. Keith paused for a moment to level Shiro with a flat stare. 

"Do I  _ look  _ like I'm joking?" He turned back to the closet and dragged out the last box it contained.

"You'll  _ freeze _ . You can't possibly carry enough food and water with you. Not to mention how you're even going to  _ get _ there. Or find the team."

"I stole a skidoo."

"You  _ what  _ ?"

"It needed some repairs, that's why it was left. But I fixed it, and now I'm going to use it to find the team and the medicine."

"Keith, think about this, will you?" Shiro grasped Keith's upper arms and forced him to look him in the eye. "There's a high possibility that you'll  _ die _ ."

"Shiro, why don't  _ you _ think about this?" Keith wrenched himself out of Shiro's hold and crossed his arms over his chest. "There are people that  _ are _ dying and that are  _ going _ to die.  _ For sure. _ Lance's nephew, and Allura, and Adam. What if I make it there and back without dying? They'd live. And if I don't? It was worth a shot. At least somebody  _ tried _ ."

Shiro's brows pinched together. He stared at Keith for what seemed to be a long time. Then he sighed and walked into the kitchen. Keith heard the sounds of a bag being unzipped and cupboards opening. When he entered the room, Shiro had a duffle bag half-full of non-perishables. He felt his eyes start to water.

"Shiro..." he whispered.

His brother smiled over at him. "What, you thought I'd let you go alone?" He stepped over and wrapped Keith in a tight hug. "Let's get ready."

Then the door slammed open and their moment of peace was shattered.

"We saw the lights on and came to make sure you weren't being robbed; it's  _ waaay _ __ past your bedtime." Pidge's voice floated through the kitchen door before that, too, was opened. Her brow furrowed when she took in the scene in front of her. "What's going on?"

Hunk appeared behind her, equally as confused. "Oh no. Please don't tell me you're leaving. Don't let Lotor get to you, he knows it would crush Lance if you left."

Keith's eyes widened. "What? No. I'm not leaving because of Lotor."

Hunk sighed heavily with relief. "Oh, thank—Wait. That means you're still leaving! Why?"

"I'm going to find the team."

This prompts an outburst from the two in the doorway.

"That's crazy!"

"He's going to find a guy he hates to save a town that hates him. He's officially lost it."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Obviously I'm not crazy if Shiro's tagging along."

"Shiro! Not you too!"

"Nope, just means you've both lost it. Or Shiro just wants to die."

"Oh, for—!" Keith groaned, running his hands through his hair. "I'm leaving right now, no matter what any of you say." 

He stalked out of the kitchen and dressed in as many layers as he could. Behind him, he heard Shiro tell Hunk and Pidge to go home.

"No way!" Pidge exclaimed. "We are  _ not _ letting you go without us!"

"Yeah! Safety in numbers, man!"

"There's only one skidoo. We can't all fit on it."

"Actually," Keith piped up, "there were a few more skidoos when I was there. They'd need fixing, but they'd be quick repairs, from what I saw."

"Well what're we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road!"

* * *

While the others went with Keith to help repair the snowmobiles, Shiro went to the hospital to visit Adam.

His breathing was faint and wheezy, laboured. Shiro pressed a hand against his clammy forehead, rousing him unintentionally.

“...Shiro?” he rasped.

“Yeah. It’s me.” He smiled down at the man.

“What are you doing here?”

“I just came to say goodbye.” His eyes widened. “I mean—I’m going somewhere for a while, so I wanted to let you know.”

“You’re leaving? Why?”

Shiro sighed heavily, averting his gaze. “The team got lost. The medicine won’t get here unless someone goes and gets it.”

What little breath Adam had rushed out of him. “No... You can’t— What if something happens to you? What if you don’t make it back?”

Shiro clasped Adam’s reaching hand in his. “I will come back. I promise. I... I have to do this. For the kids, and their families. And... and you.”

Adam gasped, tears springing to his eyes. “ Takashi , you...” He swallowed roughly. “Be safe. Come back to me.”

“I will.”

* * *

Keith hadn't been lying when he'd said the skidoos would be a quick fix. Within the hour, they were on the trail, Shiro on the back of Keith's skidoo, Hunk and Pidge sharing one, and their equipment in the storage compartments.

However, it also wasn't long before Hunk announced he was going to be sick. They pulled off to the side of the road so he could release the contents of his stomach without them splattering him and Pidge.

They kept the engines running so they'd stay warm, and were just about to head off again when Keith froze, head cocked to one side.

"Guys, turn off the engines."

With both skidoos off, Keith's suspicions were confirmed: there was someone else, hot on their heels. Probably some angry hunter whose catch the engines' noise had scared off.

They started the machines back up and had gone no more than twenty metres when they heard a small voice calling out to them. They slowed automatically.

Hunk spoke first: "That almost sounds like—"

"Guys!  Stooooop !"

The other snowmobile was getting clearer as it approached, slowing.

"Lance?" Keith gasped. "What the  _ hell _ does he think he's doing out here?" He marched over to the other boy to give him a piece of his mind.

"What the  _ hell _ , Lance? Why aren't you in town?"

"Boy, am I glad I finally caught up to you guys!"

_ "Lance!" _

"Dude, what? I'm coming to help too!"

"No you're not. Get your ass back on that snowmobile and drive it back on home."

"Hey, it's  _ my  _ nephew in the hospital.  _ I'm _ the one with the most right to be here."

"He's got a point," Hunk says unhelpfully.

"Lance, just go home. Please."

"See, I knew this would happen. That's why I waited till we were further out to tell you." At Keith's flat stare, he elaborated: "I was looking for you, so I went by the shelter, and then Shiro's when you weren't there. When I got there, the front door was open, so I went inside. Then I heard that whole thing about going to find the team and then followed you to the snowmobile place. You didn't even know I was there. How's that for sneaky?"

Keith sighed and shook his head. He could appreciate now how Shiro must have felt earlier. "Fine. Whatever. Just get on the damn snowmobile and keep up this time."

He made his way back over to his own skidoo and turned on the engine, then turned around to see Lance sitting on the back. "What're you doing? Your skidoo is over there."

"Why can't I sit on this one?" he asked innocently. Keith felt his cheeks darken, especially when the other three waggled their eyebrows at him behind Lance's back.

He grumbled incoherently as he settled on the snowmobile and stiffened when Lance's arms wrapped around his waist.

They'd been driving for a while when Lance pressed his forehead against Keith's nape and whispered, "Thank you." His voice was so quiet Keith almost thought he imagined it, if not for the way Lance didn’t move his head until they stopped again.

* * *

The snow whipping in their faces numbed their skin and their thoughts. It blinded them and cloaked their surroundings. 

Behind the leader, the team's complaints were carried away by the wind. They were lost. They all knew it.

Suddenly a shape loomed out of the whiteness, rapidly approaching.

Then all was dark.

* * *

Keith studied the map spread out on the seat of his snowmobile. They were making quite good time; they were already halfway to the second checkpoint. The team had to have gotten lost somewhere between there and the first one. 

He folded the map back up and glanced around at everyone. They were all waiting on Lance, who had insisted on going way off the path to do whatever he was doing. Keith sighed and shook his head. That boy would probably be a while longer.

Then he heard a muffled cry and shot into the  treeline , ears sharp. Had it been Lance? Was he hurt? Had he just run into a spider web?

"Lance?"

…

"Keith?"

"Where are you?"

"I don't know? I mean, you're the one with the map..."

"Do you see any landmarks?"

"… Uh, there's a broken tree. It's only broken cause I fell on it, though."

Keith glanced around. Lance's voice didn't sound too far; he should be able to spot the tree.

As soon as he saw it, he raced towards it.

"Oh, shit!" There was a patch of ice by the tree. He looked down at Lance, half-buried in snow. "You OK?"

"That's debatable." Lance looked down at his snow-covered body and added, "I can't really feel much."

Keith sighed and picked his way down the slope. He grasped Lance's hand and pulled him up.

_ "Ow!" _

Lance snatched his hand away and cradled it to his chest. "That hurt..."

"Lemme see."

Lance twisted out of Keith's reach.

"Stop being such a baby and let me see your damn hand."

Pouting, Lance stuck it out for Keith to inspect. He touched the other boy's hand gingerly, turning it over. That made Lance suck in a hissing breath. Keith let go.

"Just a sprain. Let's go." He turned to leave.

"What?" Lance squawked indignantly. "That's it?! No, 'are you sure you're alright? Here, lemme help you walk back'?" He threw out his arms in exaggeration, which only made his wrist twinge again.

"You have a sprained wrist, Lance, not a broken leg. You're walking."

Lance trudged up the slope after Keith. Then an idea came to him and he grinned devilishly. "Oh, jeez. You know what? I think my ankle is sprained too... Ooh, that's tender," he added as he prodded at the joint.

"God, you're insufferable." Keith yanked Lance's arm around his shoulders and put his own arm around Lance's waist. "Is this better, baby?" he asked, voice biting.

Lance's eyes had gone wide, cheeks redder. He swallowed and stammered, "Y-yeah, much better."

* * *

_ Nome, _

_ We cannot send more antitoxin. The weather is too severe. The lost snowmobile team is our only hope. Our prayers are with them.  _

_ \- Anchorage _

* * *

They were getting closer. Keith could feel it, deep in his gut. According to the map, the nearest town and second checkpoint were a few kilometres behind them. The blizzard had unfortunately erased any evidence of the team’s being there, and Keith cursed every entity he could think of that the medicine had been lost. 

He revved the engine and peeled away from the rest of the group, ignoring the shouts behind him. 

Lance’s arms tightened around Keith’s middle and he asked, “What is it?”

Keith grit his teeth and loosened his grip on the throttle, relaxing his shoulders as Lance smoothed his hands up and down Keith’s sides. “We can’t afford to take things slowly. The more time we waste here, the more kids—” He cut himself off and flicked his eyes towards Lance’s. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“No, you’re right.” Lance squeezed him a little, burying his face in the juncture between Keith’s neck and shoulder. He almost couldn’t hear the taller boy’s next words. “I’m so worried. What if—what if we’re  _ already  _ too late? This could all be for nothing—we could all  _ die _ for  _ nothing _ and Silvio would die thinking no one had even  _ tried _ —”

“Lance.” Keith could feel a wet spot forming on his jacket, and pulled over, bringing the skidoo to a stop. He twisted around, forcing Lance to lift his head. He immediately covered his face and hunched over. “Look at me, Lance.” Keith gently pried the boy’s slender hands away from his face and held them in his own. “Your nephew is  _ not dead.  _ Allura is  _ not dead. No one  _ in that town is dead. Do you hear me? We’re going to find the medicine and bring it back to them, and they’re all going to be cured.”

He waited for Lance to nod his understanding, then continued: “Now, I need you to keep your sharp eyes peeled for a trail. OK?”

Lance offered a watery smile and whispered, “Yeah.” Then he flung himself at Keith and wrapped the other boy in a tight, tight embrace. “Thank you. I appreciate what you’re doing so much. I appreciate you—”

Keith gasped and grabbed Lance by the shoulders, pushing him roughly away. 

“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?” 

“Look! Those trees! They’re broken!”

Lance turned so fast he might have gotten whiplash. His eyes landed on a mass of splintered trunks, covered almost completely in a thick blanket of snow. 

“The team… The medicine!” Keith jumped off the skidoo and dashed into the forest, not waiting to see if Lance was following him. 

“Keith, wait!” A hand gripped his forearm, forcing him to stop. “We should wait for the others. Who knows what’s in these woods?”

“But the medicine! We don’t have _t_ _ ime  _ !” Keith knew he was stronger than Lance. He was pretty sure Lance knew this too. So he reasoned that if they both knew this, Lance knew what he was getting himself into when he grabbed Keith’s arm. 

Keith twisted his arm faster than Lance could blink and was off before he’d finished screeching his name. 

Lance wrenched his hair with his fingers, glancing wildly from the direction Keith went to the direction they’d come from. Should he wait for the others or go in after Keith?

Shouts of alarm made up his mind. “Lance! Keith! Where are you?!”

“I see their snowmobile!”

“Guys! Over here!” Lance clambered out of the trees, boots sinking into the knee-deep snowbank.

“Lance? Where’s Keith?” Shiro demanded, rushing over to him with Hunk and Pidge.

“He went further in! He saw the broken trees and—and—” Lance cut himself off, feeling the tears clog his throat.

Shiro lay a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go get him, then.”

* * *

“OK, can you just admit we’re lost, already?”

“No, because we’re  _ not  _ !”

Lotor paced from one end of the small clearing to the other, fuming. “Just because we don’t know where we are doesn’t mean we’re lost. I never get lost.”

“Riiight...” Ezor looked to Zethrid and rolled her eyes. “And I’m a lizard.”

From Zethrid’s other side,  Acxa stood and called, “Who’s there?” She eyed the figure at the top of the hill.

The figure stepped into the firelight. “It’s me, Keith.”

She sagged with relief. “Oh, thank god you’re here. We’re lost, and...  Narti won’t get up.”

He picked his way over the snow to where she lay face down. He spotted a large wound on her forehead.  _ She’s not getting up any time soon. _

“Where’s the medicine?”

“It’s over the—”

Lotor grabbed  Acxa by the arm and threw her to the ground. “What are you thinking?! You can’t just tell him everything! He’s not to be trusted.”

“Jeez, what’s your problem?” Ezor inquired. “Looks like we can trust him more than you, if all you wanna do is hog all the fame and glory. At least  _ he’s  _ in it to help the children.”

Lotor rounded on her, fisting her jacket collar. “Is that what you think of me? I’m your leader! I’m in charge! You  _ will _ not listen to him!”

“We’ll listen to whoever the hell we want to!” Zethrid interjected. “Now let go of her!”

“Why don’t you  _ make me  _ ?” He bared his teeth, voice a low growl.

“Guys!” Keith shouted. “Stop fighting. We can’t afford this right now. We need to get the medicine back to Nome before it’s too late.”

“He’s right; let’s go.”  Acxa tightened the ropes around the boxes of medicine.

“Did you not hear a word I just said?! I said you’re not going with him.”

Then the three of them were on top of him, pinning him to the ground and tying his wrists together.

“Keep your mouth shut or that’s the first thing I’ll relieve you of,” Zethrid warned, making to tie him to a tree.

“Wait. Don’t leave him.”

They looked at Keith like he was crazy. “The hell do you mean? You think we  _ want _ him back in town?”

“Think about it. If we leave him, he’s just a martyr for the children. But if we bring him back, everyone will see him for what he really is: a greedy, narcissistic dog.”

Zethrid grinned at him, though it looked more like she was snarling. “Evil. Cruel. I like it. Lash him to a snowmobile, then, girls!”

Keith was about to signal them to start the engines when he heard it: his name, being shouted in the distance. The voice... no, voices... were familiar. Was it his team?

“I’m over here!” he shouted back, cupping his hands around his mouth.

Moments later, they came crashing through the trees, then immediately froze.

“What the fuck  _ happened  _ ?”

“Pidge! Language!”

“It’s uh... I’ll explain later. For now, let’s hurry back home.”

* * *

The ride home seemed much quicker than the ride out. It felt like barely an hour had passed before they were breaching the town limits and skidding to a stop in front of the hospital. 

Shiro and Lance hefted the boxes of medicine into the building while Zethrid lifted Lotor off the skidoo  and  handed him over to the cops that were among the growing crowd. 

The doctors booted everyone who wasn’t a patient from the hospital so they could administer the antitoxin in peace. 

When Keith’s eyes picked Lance from the crowd, he saw that Lance’s family had converged on him, pulling him into a teary group hug. 

Shiro made his way back over to Keith, tears in his own eyes. 

“So, you finally gonna confess to Adam then?”

Shiro smirked. “Already did.”

“What? When!”

“Before we left.”

“And you didn’t even think to mention it?”

Shiro shrugged , anything else he would have said drowned out by the noise of the crowd, now making a circle around the skidoos. Namely news reporters. 

“What are the names of the brave heroes that went after the lost team?”

“Why is Lotor tied up?”

“Who masterminded the idea?”

Shiro held up a hand to silence them and said, “ Please. We’ll answer any questions you have later, but right now we need to rest and be with our families.”

Though disgruntled, the reporters dropped the matter and began to disperse. 

Shiro turned to Keith. “I’m so proud of you. You had this zany idea to go out on your own and rescue the team and the medicine, and somehow it worked. I’m sorry I ever doubted you, Keith.”

Keith averted his gaze, shrugging. “Yeah, well.”

Shiro’s eyes caught something beyond Keith’s shoulder and he grinned. “Oh, looks like someone’s coming to talk to you.” 

When Keith turned around, there was  Lan ce,  _running_ at him at full speed. They collided, both falling to the ground as Lance wrapped his arms tightly around Keith, face buried in his neck. 

“Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you. You’re the reason Silvio survived.” He sniffed, lifting his head to look Keith in the eye.  “God, Keith, I— I don’t know how to say this, but I— mmph !”

Keith cut him off with a kiss, bringing a hand up to hold the back of Lance’s head. He felt Lance’s lips move against his own, so soft and almost hesitant. 

Keith broke the kiss and smiled up at him. “I know. Me too.”

Lance pulled him back up for another kiss. 

* * *

“Thank you for answering our questions.”

“It was our pleasure.” Hunk smiled warmly at the reporters. The expression immediately disintegrated when they’d turned their backs, becoming one of annoyance. “Gee, that took forever. I’m exhausted.”

“Too exhausted to make dinner?” Lance asked slowly,  testing the bounds of Hunk’s supposed exhaustion. 

“Never.” He grinned. “Oatmeal?  _ With _ flavour this time?” he added, shooting Shiro a stern look. 


End file.
